In our continuing series of examining Google Search Trends to gain insights into the most queried keyword phrases in the USA, we present our findings from October 2024.
Every day of the month, we collect three keyword phrases with the highest search volume reported by Google Trends – Trending Now (US Only). Google’s Trending Now tool provides the date when each phrase started to trend or when the phrase started to be “searched more than usual.” Each keyword phrase has an estimated query volume attached to it, which we also record. After the conclusion of the month, we review the entire list of phrases along with their volumes to understand what motivated people to enter those queries. Our series of reports gives a snapshot of the most important topics on the populace’s minds, sometimes with some year-over-year growth or decline analysis.
A Look Back at October 2024
After reviewing the data, I found the month packed with significant events, from natural disasters to pop culture moments and the thrill of fall traditions. Hurricane Milton, a powerful storm that swept across the Gulf Coast of Florida, had many on edge, driving queries to track its progress. On the lighter side, film releases and Northern Lights sightings drove many searches. In the business sector, the return of a retailer’s fashion show piqued the interest of Google users, as did the introduction of the Tesla Robot. In contrast, some unsettling news emerged when reports of E. coli at McDonald’s prompted people to learn more. October also marked the return of baseball’s World Series, capturing a reported larger share of attention. Let’s look at all these highlights and their impact on the month.
Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Milton was a Category 5 hurricane that made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida. Here’s the list of keywords related to the storm.
- Hurricane Milton tracker – 10/05/2024 – 10,000,000+ queries
- tropicana field – 10/07/2024 – 500,000+ queries
- Disney World Hurricane Milton – 10/07/2024 – 500,000+ queries
After tracking the storm, queries related to the damage it caused were recorded on the 7th. After Milton subsided, the next named storm was tracked.
- Hurricane Nadine tracker – 10/08/2024 – 500,000+ queries
Although the query states otherwise, Nadine was only a tropical storm but did bring heavy rains to Belize and Mexico.
Northern Lights
We have seen an increase in queries about the Northern Lights over the past year. Last month, one of the most widespread displays appeared across the US.
- Northern Lights tonight – 10/10/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
People searched Google for more information and then flooded their social media feeds with photos of the sky.
Musical Artists
A continuation from September 2024, we found musical artists’ names appear in our collection of keywords. On October 3rd, two names started to trend.
- Garth Brooks – 10/03/2024 – 500,000+ queries
- Eminem – 10/03/2024 – 500,000+ queries
A lawsuit was filed against country music artist Garth Brooks, accusing him of sexual assault and battery. On the same day, Eminem released the music video for his song “Temporary” from his album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).
On the 16th, news of one of the original members of One Direction broke.
- Liam Payne – 10/16/2024 – 10,000,000+ queries
Liam Payne tragically died as he fell from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina. With over 10 million queries, it was one of the most searched topics of the month.
Films
October brought excitement to movie fans with the release of Joker 2, the chilling sequel Smile 2, and a trailer for an A24 movie starring Nicole Kidman.
- Joker 2 – 10/04/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Smile 1 – 10/17/2024 – 500,000+ queries
- Nicole Kidman babygirl – 10/23/2024 – 200,000+ queries
Joker: Folie à Deux was released on October 4th and was panned by critics. The release of another sequel, Smile 2, on October 18th had Google users searching for the first film, which we rarely see. Lastly, a series of news articles were published on the 23rd about Nicole Kidman’s upcoming movie, Babygirl. The coverage spurred search queries into the details of this film set to be released on December 25, 2024.
Supermodels
Like musical artists, we had a couple of supermodel names on our list for October 2024.
- Gisele Bündchen – 10/28/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Heidi Klum Halloween 2024 – 10/30/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
It was announced that Gisele is expecting on the 28th. It is her first baby with her boyfriend, Joaquim Valente. Heidi Klum showcased her Halloween costume on the 30th, which has become a popular annual search topic:
This year’s costume (E.T.) didn’t have the same level of search interest as the last two years, but it has grown in popularity over the previous five years.
Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
Segueing from models to the 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, the event returned after a six-year absence.
- Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2024 – 10/14/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
The event occurred on the 15th, but interest increased on the 14th.
Holidays
We found two holidays that made our list in the data we collected last month.
- Columbus Day – 10/14/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Diwali 2024 – 10/30/2024 – 500,000+ queries
Interestingly, the Heidi Klum costume query was the only query related to Halloween reported by Google Trends. We interpreted this need to search for information about Halloween this year.
1 Month To Go
As the 2024 U.S. Presidential election heated up in October, the top searched keywords revealed key moments capturing the public’s attention, from candidates, commentators, and early election results.
- JD Vance – 10/01/2024 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Bret Baier – 10/14/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Tony Hinchcliffe – 10/27/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Biden garbage comment – 10/29/2024 – 500,000+ queries
- election results so far – 10/30/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
The Vice President debate was held on the 1st, and the Republican candidate was the only one on our list. Bret Baier from Fox News interviewed Kamala Harris on the 16th, but interest in the host started two days prior. Tony Hinchliffe spoke at Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden and made a joke about Puerto Rico. This joke prompted a response from President Joe Biden where he called Trump supporters “garbage.” Lastly, people were wondering if there was any information about early voting and tried to learn more about the outcome before the election in November.
McDonald’s E. Coli Outbreak
Last month, McDonald’s faced a significant health scare when reports of E. Coli contamination surfaced, affecting several locations nationwide.
- McDonald’s E. Coli – 10/22/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
The outbreak led to temporary closures and prompted an investigation into the source, emphasizing the importance of food safety standards.
College Football
According to Google Trends, fall sports are still the most searched topic. Here is the list of College football keywords we collected.
- Vanderbilt – 10/05/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Ohio State vs Oregon – 10/11/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Georgia vs Texas – 10/18/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Alabama vs Tennessee – 10/18/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
Outside the marquee matchups, Vanderbilt got its time in the spotlight with a stunning win over top-ranked Alabama on the 5th.
NFL Games
Professional football also drove many queries last month. We are publishing just a short set of this report’s most searched keyword terms.
- Cowboys vs Steelers – 10/05/2024 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Ravens vs Bengals – 10/06/2024 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Saints vs Chiefs – 10/06/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- 49ers vs Seahawks – 10/09/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Lions vs Cowboys – 10/12/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Aidan Hutchinson – 10/13/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Chiefs vs 49ers – 10/19/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Lions vs Vikings – 10/19/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Cowboys vs 49ers – 10/26/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
Most of the list comprises matchup phrases except for Detroit Lions star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who sustained a gruesome leg injury on the 13th.
MLB Playoffs and World Series
With Google Trends’ new format, more MLB keywords make the three top-queried phrases of the day. Either that or Yankee fans were excited that their team had a long run in the playoffs.
- Phillies vs Mets – 10/08/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Yankees vs Royals – 10/09/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Yankees games – 10/09/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Dodgers – 10/11/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Yankees vs Guardians – 10/13/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Yankees vs Cleveland Guardians match player stats – 10/17/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
- World Series – 10/20/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Ohtani injury – 10/26/2024 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Dodgers vs Yankees – 10/28/2024 – 5,000,000+ queries
Check out the phrase from October 17th. This type of keyword appeared in Google Trends in prior months, but the query volume hasn’t been over seven figures. We believe this phrase is either not human-generated or is from a country outside of the US (the use of “match” in the query is a giveaway). This query could be used for betting applications. We will continue to monitor these types of phrases. Oh yeah, congrats to the Los Angeles Dodgers for winning the series.
Amazon and Tesla
The second of the two annual Amazon Prime days, Prime Big Deal Days, occurred in October 2024, driving people to search.
- Amazon Prime Day – 10/06/2024 – 5,000,000+ queries
We pulled a graph from Google Trends to see the search interest in this shopping event over the last 5 years. Googling an Amazon shopping sale is decreasing in popularity.
Tesla held an event on October 10th, “We, Robot,” and unveiled several new products, including a robotaxi, a robovan, and its general-purpose, robotic humanoid Optimus robot.
- tesla robot – 10/10/2024 – 1,000,000+ queries
What a time to be alive.Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, we utilize search trends data for all our clients, and we invite you to learn more about our SEO services.
